Peregrinação [+leggi anche:
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scheda film] by João Botelo is Portugal’s candidate for both the Oscars and the Goya Awards in 2019, the Portuguese Film Academy announced yesterday.

Starring Cláudio da Silva, Peregrinação is loosely based on the book of the same name by Fernão Mendes Pinto, first printed in 1614, which is a compilation of chronicles about Portuguese sailors’ adventures in the East, supposedly experienced by its author over a period of nearly 20 years. Botelho’s adaptation, however, includes several aspects that are not part of the book, such as the family life of the adventurer once he gets back to the motherland. It is also an unexpectedly musical experience, with a choir playing a group of sailors.

Produced by Ar de Filmes, Peregrinação was released in November 2017 and became the seventh most-seen Portuguese title of last year, with nearly 21,000 admissions and grossing €106,004 – impressive but still quite a low figure compared to Botelho’s previous literary adaption, The Maias – Story of a Portuguese Family [+leggi anche:
recensione
trailer
scheda film], which grossed nearly €600,000 in 2014.

The Goya Awards will be handed out on 2 February 2019, while the Oscars ceremony is due to take place on 24 February.